Racial Groups

Hispanic American Diversity is very interesting. There are several different Hispanic American groups. Each has its own culture, family values and even language. There are four groups that really stand out; Mexican Americans, Puerto Ricans, Cubans and Central Americans.

Mexican Americans are the largest Hispanic group in America. Their sole language, years ago, was Spanish. Only in the twentieth century have Mexican Americans become really proficient in English. The reason for doing so is because they have moved into a greater range of professions. Mexican Spanish is different from the Spanish spoken in Spain. Mexican Spanish differs from the Spanish spoken in Spain by the pronunciation of some consonants and vowel, consonant combinations. "The Spanish spoken by Mexican Americans is a spoken and informal dialect." (Gonzales-Berry, p. 304)

The approximate size of a Mexican American family is 4 people. Family is very important. Divorce is not a very common practice. The median income of a Mexican American family is about $4,300 per month. Every member of the family is important including aunts, uncles, cousins and godparents. They all play important roles in keeping the family going. Mexican Americans are very traditional. Generally the men are the breadwinners and the dominant person in the household. The women run all of the household matters and are expected to be obedient to their husbands. Mexican American families are very religious and religion plays a big role in their lives. The religion of approximately 75% of all Mexican American families is Catholic.

Back in the 1960's agriculture used to be the main employment of Mexican Americans, but today less than 3% of the working population do this any more. Twenty percent employed in the Professional, education and health services. About 16% are in the service and another 16% in manufacturing. "Over 16% held managerial and professional specialty positions." (The Statistical Record of Hispanic Americans, p. 534)

Currently in the U.S. there are 2.7 million Puerto Ricans. Of that 2.7 million, over 900,000 live in New York City. The other 200,000 live in other areas of New York. The reason they chose New York as the desired place of residence is because of the many hobs in the service and industrial industry. Recently, there has been a change to the pattern. There has been a jump in Puerto Rican population in the South and the Midwest. There are now a big population of Puerto Ricans in Texas, Florida, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Massachusetts.

Generally Puerto Rican Americans hold the highest college graduation rates and higher incomes per capita than their other Latino counterparts. Even though this is the "Puerto Rican Americans are-overall-the most economically disadvantaged Latino group in the United States. Puerto Rican communities in urban areas are plagued by problems such as crime, drug use, poor educational opportunity, unemployment and the breakdown of the traditional strong Puerto Rican family structure". Many Puerto Ricans have also had to endure some of the same racial discrimination as African Americans because they are of Spanish and African descent.

The beliefs and religious traditions of Puerto Rican Americans are a blend of the Catholic religion of the Spaniards and the West African pagan beliefs. "Though most Puerto Ricans are strict Roman Catholics, local customs have given a Caribbean flavor to some standard Catholic ceremonies." Traditionally Puerto Ricans also believe that the world has spirits that can communicate with living people, which is called espiritismo.

Puerto Ricans speak Castilian Spanish, which is proper Spanish derived from ancient Latin. It is the Spanish that is spoken in Spain. The main difference between the Spanish spoken in Puerto Rico and Spain is pronunciation. Most generations of Puerto Ricans are often fluently bilingual.

Cuban Americans are the third largest Hispanic minority in the United States. Socialist, Fidel Castro, has led Cuba's government since the late 1950s. Cuba's relationship with the United States has been horrible since. Many Cuban's tried to get out of Cuba and come to American to get away from their government. In fact, most of the immigration from Cuba to America has been for political reasons. In their venture to America, many die trying to escape.

According to the census, there are nearly one million